Jang Yun-gi sentenced to life imprisonment in first trial on 'rape-murder' charges

【Financial News, Gwangju, South Jeolla Province = Reporter Hwang Tae-jong】Jang Yun-gi, who was indicted on a charge of rape-murder, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial. 
 Criminal Division 13 of the Gwangju District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-ho) sentenced Jang Yun-gi to life imprisonment on the 30th after he was indicted on charges including rape-murder under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes. The court also ordered him to wear an electronic tracking device (electronic ankle monitor) and imposed a 10-year restriction on employment at institutions related to children, adolescents, and people with disabilities, among other measures.
 The court ruled, "The defendant is found guilty of all charges in the indictment. The prosecutor's argument that the defendant should be permanently isolated from society is justified."
 Explaining the reasons for the sentence, it also stated, "However, we took into account that South Korea is a de facto abolitionist country, that it has no whole-life imprisonment to bridge the gap between the death penalty and life imprisonment, and relevant Supreme Court precedents."
 Prosecutors had previously sought the death penalty for Jang Yun-gi. They plan to closely analyze the ruling before deciding whether to appeal.
 Meanwhile, Jang Yun-gi was indicted on charges of abducting Lee Chae-won, a second-year high school student who was on her way home, in a vehicle at around 12:10 a.m. on May 5 in the former Wolgye-dong area of Gwangsan District, Gwangju Metropolitan City, and killing her after attempting to sexually assault her but finding it difficult to do so. At the time, Jang Yun-gi also attacked a male second-year high school student who ran over after hearing screams, injuring him with a weapon.
 In particular, the investigation also uncovered multiple alleged sex crimes, including stalking and sexually assaulting a female coworker at a part-time job two days before the crime and secretly filming the body of a teenage girl while serving as a social service worker.
 Prosecutors conducted a supplementary investigation into the case, which had been referred as ordinary murder under the Criminal Act, established Jang Yun-gi's intent to commit sex crimes such as abduction and sexual assault, and indicted him on a charge of rape-murder.

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